Herbert Smith Freehills has advised UGL Limited (UGL) on the sale of its global property services business, DTZ, to a consortium comprising TPG Asia, Inc, PAG Asia Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (together TPG and Partners) at an enterprise value of A$1.215 billion, announced today.
As previously disclosed, UGL has undertaken a process to evaluate third party interest received in DTZ to determine whether a potential sale of the business is in the best interests of shareholders. Following completion of this process, the Board has determined to enter into a binding sale agreement with TPG and Partners.
The sale consideration will consist solely of cash and the sale is conditional on certain approvals from regulatory bodies, no material adverse change and other business-related conditions. The transaction is expected to be completed around the end of September 2014. Following the sale of DTZ, UGL will be a dedicated engineering, construction and maintenance services provider in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.
Herbert Smith Freehills advised UGL both on the previously announced potential demerger of its DTZ and Engineering businesses and, now, on the entry into a binding sale agreement with TPG and Partners.
The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partners Philippa Stone and Philip Hart, who were closely supported by lawyers Adrian Amer, Hayden Guthrie, Tom Cooper, John Blake and Charlotte Cameron. Herbert Smith Freehills also utilised its extensive global network to assist UGL in each of the significant financial centres in which it operates across Asia, EMEA and the United States.
Herbert Smith Freehills partner Philippa Stone said: ‘The success of this deal is yet another indicator that there is increasing appetite for the right assets in our regional M&A markets.’ Philip Hart, echoing Philippa Stone’s sentiment, added: ‘We are delighted to have acted for our long-standing client UGL on this important strategic transaction.’
Goldman Sachs acted as exclusive financial adviser to UGL. Gilbert + Tobin acted for TPG and Partners.
